Cinnamon Zone: Work

The Early Signs of Workaholism

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 23:53:00 GMT

As it turned out, traffic lights seem to be my new venue of inspiration

As I was leaving work today, as usual, I had to stop at a traffic light, and since it was Sunday and the traffic was heavy I had to wait a bit longer. So, I started to get bored and I had that feeling or urge or whatever that I can't be just sitting around waiting and listening to the radio, I had to do something, so I fished out the scratch card I'd bought earlier to recharge my balance, and a piaster to scratch it with, you know how they keep giving you piasters with change especially those big super makrkets, someone should put an end to that! Nothing must be sold for a price that's not a multiple of 5! Anyway, fidgety concerns aside, I scratched the card, picked up my mobile and started to recharge the balance, all the while sneaking a peek every other moment at the traffic light to see if it's time to move, and before I knew it I found myself racing to type those numbers and hit the button, and that's when I stopped and asked myself: What am I doing?

I started wondering, was it really about wanting a pastime while I waited or was it about the thrill and exhilaration of meeting a deadline? Or perhaps I feel that I need to actually do something all the time. Whatever happened to relaxation and contemplation? And if it was about doing something, anything, then what about those non-work-related things I've been meaning to catch up on or even start with but never got around to doing them? And I'm not saying that there wasn't time, there's always time, it's just that I use it to do other things.

Recently I've been favoring work with much of my time. The other day I was too preoccupied with it that I actually dreamed about the file I was working on and I hadn't finished yet. That's another sign I guess. And, you know recently when I had the occasional toothache that crippled me for like 20 minutes if not more and I couldn't do anything until the pain subsided, do you know what I once thought? "How much work time have I missed during that painful spell?"

So, if you have any similar symptoms you are strongly advised to kick back before you kick off. Other signs may include admiring career obsessed TV characters, working late on weekends; underestimating the importance of sleep and feeling like your eyes are filled with sawdust.

Bottom line, work is great and everything, but when it starts to turn into an obsession and starts to take the place of other things in your life that are no less important than it, then you better nip it in the bud

Get well soon

Bombed in Translation

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 18:53:00 GMT

As translators, much more subtitlers, we come across many weird/funny translations all the time. It’s not only because doing quality checking is a part of our work, but also because the nature of our work doomed us to focus on the subtitles while watching any movie or TV programme. Believe me sometimes it’s so annoying that you can’t enjoy the movie unless you switch them off. So, if you’re at the cinema and suddenly hear people shouting: NOOO! Don’t jump to conclusions about someone being harassed, it might as well be a group of translators who spotted a wrong line.

It has to be said that by writing this I’m not excluding myself or anyone from making these mistakes. We all might have made stupid mistakes whether or not we were aware of them. It happens all the time, I write something then I realize it’s utterly ridiculous and I wonder how I could’ve possibly written such a thing.

So, being exposed to all kinds of translation and translation mistakes, I tried to remember some of the funniest mistranslations that I came across, whether those I or another translators spotted before being shown on TV or those that were actually seen on the screen. Enjoy these…

Flea market: سوق البراغيث

4 wheel drive: سيارة بأربع عجلات

Brand new: جديد خرنج

Which of these ties sucks less?: أي هاتين الربطتين تمتص أقل

I made you a cow: جعلتك بقرة

Do you have pot (Marijuana)? هل لديك مبولة

It’s a school night: إنها مدرسة ليلية

Dumbass: مؤخرة غبية

I’m on board! (count me in): أنا على متن القارب

Spelling bee: نحلة التهجئة

Soap opera: إعلانات الصابون

Now we’re talking!: إننا نتحدث الآن

The sensible way: الطريقة الحساسة

First aid: المساعد الأول

Tell me about it!: أخبرني عن الأمر

Douchebag: كيس الزبالة

Zipper: الزمام المنزلق

TGIF: تي جي آي إف

ربيع الأول: Spring I

قبل أن يسلم الروح: Before he gave up the ghost

تغييرات: Changements

Those are the ones I have for now, and mind you; I’m not making anything up…

هذه هي الوحدات التي لدي الآن، واعقلوا أنتم، إنني لا أصنعها إلى أعلى...

Ok, that last sentence was obviously a joke :D

What puts "Labour" in "Labour Day"

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:12:00 GMT

Ever wondered why Labour Day is on the first day of the month?

Wednesday, 30 April

It’s a new day! Rise, shine and behold: it’s the last day of the week. Having a Wednesday as the last workday is an unspeakable joy for any employee. That day being the last day in the whole month, double so.

It’s around 8:20 AM, I’m approaching the company and as I take a load of the gigantic glass windows I think of the work waiting for me behind those walls, and to tell you the truth, it didn’t make me exactly cheerful. But still, something in the back of my mind reminded me that it’s the 30^th of April, and in order for today’s work to be counted as a bonus, it had to be done before May strikes.

I arrive at the office, and honestly I’m having a hard time remembering whether I’d chatted with anybody before I unloaded my stuff and switched my computer on. However, I can clearly remember that the clock on the screen read 8:23, at which time I started working keen not be disturbed. I tried not to open any conversation with anyone and shunned those as politely and quickly as I could.

I was so absorbed that I didn’t even notice Amjad doing his daily routine errand: comes by with a mug in his hand, stands at the door off the office, throws a teasing remark and goes back to his office quickly. I was setting a time limit for myself to finish each and every part of what I was working on. I didn’t stop for long even when Ruba rushed into the office all angry and infuriated after the program she was working on encountered a fatal error and her work wasn’t saved, yet again.

Naturally, I wasn’t the only one swamped. The whole office seemed to be on a rush. After all it was the 30^th of April, and we were finishing up the month. Even when I went to pray, I could still hear the sound of phone ringing and people walking in the hallway. Not to mention the endless talk about salaries, bonus, overtime, deductions, etc.

By 1:00 o’clock, I was starting to doze off. My head felt so heavy and my eyes hurt. A break? Well, a 15 minutes doze wouldn’t kill anyone. When it comes to taking naps on hard wooden desks, I’m the one to turn to. Later on, Sireen, who was desperate for a nap and has an urgent work to do came by sulking, and we all shared the same notion: We all want this day to end.

By around 4:20, I’m done. My head feels like one of those African Zulu drums. But, still, it’s the 30^th of April, and I could feel that I earned the day off. I was having raptures of joy, the month is over and it was officially announced that whoever finished his work could go home anytime. Have a nice weekend!

At home, a nice healthy meal, a walk and a sniff of fresh air could turn your world around. To top all, a blog post just before bedtime for all the workers in the world, whether you were the CEO of a multi-national company or just selling newspapers at the traffic lights, for each and everyone of you making this world unstoppingly viable: It’s labour day, and you’ve earned it.